Teaser

NFL Football Stats BETTING GUIDE -
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TEASERS
(American Football and Basketball only)

A teaser is a parlay in which
you adjust the point spread or total of each individual
play; in other words, a teaser is a parlay comprised
of a series of buy wagers instead of straight bets.
If you're unclear about either parlays or buy wagering,
please read those sections before continuing.

Like a parlay, a teaser is a single
bet that links together several individual plays (from
2 to 8 in the case of teasers). You can combine a
series of straight bets, over/under bets, or any mixture
of the two. A teaser allows you to "buy points" -
adjust the point spread or totals in your favor -on
the plays that comprise the multi-part wager. As in
a buy wager, adjusting the spread and/or the totals
costs you less favorable odds, thus less of a return
on your wager.

In a teaser, the amount of points
that you are allowed to buy is higher than those allowed
for straight bets. Whereas straight buy wagers allow
you to buy 0.5, 1, 1.5 or 2 points on either the point
spread or the total, in a teaser you are offered anywhere
from 3.5 to 7 points, depending on the sport. However,
you cannot select different point adjustments for
the different plays: the amount of points you buy
will be applied to all of the individual plays that
comprise the teaser. You cannot buy, say, 4 points
on one game and 5 on another.

What are the advantages of playing
a teaser rather than a series of individual buy wagers?
You receive significantly better odds than you would
playing the adjusted money lines of buy wagers. Also,
compared to a buy wager, the teaser offers you a greater
number of points with which to adjust the point spreads
and totals. The disadvantages? As in a parlay, winning
two out of three or three out of four is still a loss.
If those winning plays had been individual buy wagers,
you would have come out ahead. As always, going for
a bigger payout entails a bigger risk.

These are the payouts for teasers
(Game sides & totals):

Teasers (Game sides
& totals)

Monster
Teaser

Football:

6 pts

6.5 pts

7 pts

Basketball:

4 pts

4.5 pts

5 pts

2
team

Even

10/11

5/6

3 team

17/10

9/5

3/2

4
team

14/5

5/2

2/1

5 team

17/4

4/1

7/2

6
team

6/1

11/2

5/1

Football:

10
pts

Basketball:

7
pts

3-team

5/6 pts

1st & 2nd Half
Teasers (sides & totals)

1st & 2nd Half
Monster Teasers

Football:

3 pts

Basketball:

2 pts

2
team

10/11

3 team

9/5

4
team

5/2

5 team

4/1

6
team

11/2

Football:

5
pts

Basketball:

3.5
pts

3
team

10/13

Let's put the theory into action:

Todd decides to play a teaser for $50: with a 7.0 point adjustment to the point spreads and the totals, he is confident that his picks stand a good chance of winning. On the Betting Lines page, he would select parlay/teaser, enter the amount he would like to wager, then select the individual plays that will make up his teaser. When he's done making his selections, the page might look like this:

Match

Play

Money
Line

4/22/99
8:00:00 PM

101

miami
dolphins

ATLANTA
to win by 7.0

-110

224

ATLANTA
FALCONS

4/19/99
7:35:00 PM

215

baltimore
ravens

ravens
to win by -3.5

-110

641

NEW
ORLEANS SAINTS

4/19/99
7:35:00 PM

215

baltimore
ravens

Over
32.5

-110

641

NEW
ORLEANS SAINTS

Total
To Wager: $

Total
To Win: $

Todd buys 7
points.

When he gets
to the confirmation page, he uses
the pull-down menu to select "teaser
7.0." The adjusted point spread for
the Falcons is now 0.0; the adjusted
point spread for the Ravens is now
(+)3.5; the adjusted line for the
over bet in the second game is 25.5.
Buying 7 points has lowered the hurtles
that Todd's teams must jump, but he
will receive less of a potential payout
than if he had bet the parlay.

$50 is deducted
from Todd's account. His balance now
reads: $50 available, $50 at risk.

Outcome I

Say the results of the two games
were the following:

Miami

10

Atlanta

21

Baltimore

32

New Orleans

27

Todd's first play wins: Atlanta
won the game by 11 points, thus covering the adjusted
point spread of 0.0. Since the teaser eliminated the
point spread, Atlanta simply had to win the game outright
for this play to be a winner.

Since all three plays of the teaser
were winners, the teaser bet wins. The odds for a
3 play teaser with a 7 point adjustment are 6/5. Thus
Todd's $50 bet returns $60. Unlike straight bets or
buy wagers, in which the original bet is returned
to the bettor if he or she wins, teaser payouts include
the original wager. $60 is deposited to Todd's account.
His balance now reads: $160 available, $0 at risk.

Outcome II

Say the results of the same two
games were instead:

Miami

10

Atlanta

14

Baltimore

25

New Orleans

28

Todd's first play wins: Atlanta
won the game by 4 points. Since Todd "teased" Atlanta's
point spread from -7 to 0.0, Atlanta only needed to
win the game outright for this play to be a winner.

The second play wins: Baltimore
lost by 3 points. Since the teaser adjusted Baltimore's
point spread to +3.5, Baltimore could lose by 4 or
less for this play to be a winner.

The third play wins: the sum of
Baltimore and New Orlean's final scores is 53. With
the adjusted total line of the teaser, any total score
over 25.5 is a winner.

Since all three plays of the teaser
were winners, the teaser bet wins. The odds for a
3 play teaser with a 7 point adjustment are 6/5. Thus
Todd's $50 bet returns $60. $60 is deposited to his
account. His balance now reads: $110 available, $0
at risk.